Q: Do You Need A Survey When Buying a Home?

So you’re thinking about buying a home—do you need a survey?

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I personally always buy a survey when I purchase a property. For one, I want to know if I’m paying for the right property. We can’t just assume that the description of the property is what we’re getting; it’s important to verify that information with a survey, particularly if you’re purchasing outside a subdivision. If you’re buying a property that comes with land or acreage, you’d want to know where the corners are, especially if, for example, you wanted to put up a fence.

Speaking of boundaries and corners, you want to ensure that there aren't any sort of discrepancies or arguments over the house or adjacent buildings. Through the years, I’ve had many houses where, in the process of doing a survey, I’ve found out a portion of it that I liked (a storage shed, for example) was actually located on the neighbor’s property. Be sure to determine whether all parts of the property you expect to get are actually on the property.

I wouldn’t recommend buying a home without a survey.

Similarly, make sure that the property is properly zoned. If you’re thinking of adding a building or constructing a duplex, you’ll need to know if the zoning is correct before you do so.

The bottom line is that I wouldn’t recommend buying a home without a survey. If you’d like more information to put surveys in context, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d be glad to hear from you.